CALL FOR PROPOSALS

Submission Deadline: December 31, 2025
via: oxfordabstracts.com

Conference Theme:

Throughout recorded history, toys and games have shaped and reflected who we are. They inspire our play and fuel our development, both as individuals and members of society, ready to face the unique demands of our time. As the world has changed, so too have our toys and games. We can observe them evolving, progressing, adapting, seemingly disappearing, and surprisingly reappearing over time. Yet they are more than mere reflections. Just as play creates and shapes culture, as Huizinga noted in Homo Ludens, toys and games create and shape our realities as well as our understandings of them.  As both carriers and changemakers of culture, they represent and influence the collective spirit of their times – the Zeitgeist. 

As a community of toy researchers, archivists, curators, professionals, practitioners, and designers, we not only try to decipher and understand this constantly changing zeitgeist, but also to help shape it. We know just how important that task is. Through play with toys and games, players gain understanding for the worlds in which they live and can make it their own. They can learn and practice essential skills, and they can be introduced to and confronted with the great challenges of their time - all in the creative, inspiring, and open sphere of play. Looking at the past, present, and future of playthings, the question is not so much what the zeitgeist in toys and games can be – but rather how and what they contribute to the multiple and potentially conflicting constellations of ideas, values and norms that come to characterize particular epochs.  Given the importance of play, toys and games for us individually and collectively, we have a deep and far-reaching responsibility in trying to answer these questions.

The 10th ITRA World Conference provides opportunities to exchange, reflect on, and discuss the zeitgeist in toys and games. We invite proposals from many different disciplines and professions. We also want to include all kinds of toys, games, playthings—physical, digital or hybrid—in our discussions. 

The scientific committee welcomes abstracts of completed research, case studies design studies, educational and development projects, including those in process or development, as well as ideas for future research in order to generate discussion and feedback.  Submissions related to the main conference theme are invited, as well as from a broad range of topics on toys, games, and play, including but not limited to:

• Art and Artistry

• AI, Metaverse, Internet of Things and other [New] Technologies

• Availability, Accessibility, and Affordability

• Collecting, Collections, and Preservation

• Cultures, Communities, and Societies

• Gamification

• History and Historical Analysis

• Indigenous, Folk, and Ancient Toys & Games

• Innovations, Transitions, and Subversions

• Intersectionality, Inclusivity, and Intergenerationality

• Lifelong Playing and Learning

• Playgrounds, Parks, and Other Playspaces

• Play Therapy and Therapeutic Toys

• Promotions, Markets, and Trends

• Playthings in, of, and for Times of War and Peace

• Social Justice and Representation

• Socialization, Identity, and Development 

• Sustainability, Safety, and Design

• Teaching, and Learning

Submission Guidelines:

To submit a paper, poster, flashtalk, or to organize a symposium/panel please submit a complete abstract with all requested information as described below by December 31, 2025 through our online portal at: https://app.oxfordabstracts.com/stages/36478/submitter

The first time you access the submission portal you will be asked to register as a user.  Please note that the contact information entered in the registration process will only be used by ITRA for the purposes of managing your submission and contacting you about its status.  Only complete submissions will be considered for acceptance to the conference.  Questions or issues regarding the submission process should be directed to the conference chair, Volker Mehringer at volker.mehringer@phil.uni-augsburg.de

All submissions must be in English and include: (a) the title, (b) names, affiliations, and contact information for each presenter, (c) an abstract (400 word limited), and (d) up to 3 keywords. Keywords are used to organize presentations into appropriate sessions, so please choose words that clearly describe the focus of your work.   In addition, please note the following guidelines and requirements for each submission type.

Papers are intended for individual papers that are being submitted independently by its author(s).  Papers that are part of a panel/symposium should be submitted as a package by the session organizer (see below).  The abstract must include a brief introduction or purpose statement, a concise description of the methodology/inquiry approach, data/results, discussion, and conclusion (400 word limit). Please note that in the case of projects still in progress, tentative or anticipated findings should be described.  Paper presentations are limited to 20 minutes, with an additional 10 minutes for questions and comments.

Symposia/Panels are designed to address an important topic, issue and/or to highlight new advances, methods/approaches, or emerging areas of interest.  Symposia generally feature 3-4 presentations by people from different institutions, perspectives, and/or traditions in toy research, design and/or industry. Sessions will be limited to 2 hours and must include dedicated time for question/answer and discussion.  Submissions should include an overall title for the symposium. The abstract should clearly communicate the importance of the main topics addressed, overall goals for the session, and a brief description including each participant’s contribution to the symposium and individual titles if appropriate (400 word limit).

Posters are 2-dimensional displays with a high level of visual interest presented during a 90-minute, regular session.  Poster presenters are expected to be at their poster throughout the session to interact with and address questions from interested conference attendees on a 1:1 basis. As with submissions of papers, the abstract must include a brief introduction or purpose statement, and a concise description of the methodology/inquiry approach, data/results, discussion, and conclusion (400 word limit). 

Flash Talks are no longer than 5-minutes and are intended to spark conversation and interaction with other scholars interested in a particular theoretical, substantive, or methodological issue.  Akin to a round table format the primary focus and goal is an exchange of ideas.  This session type is ideal for presenters seeking feedback on work in progress, exploring new research directions, or discussing current challenges and tensions within toy and game research. All flash talk submissions must include:an abstract that describes the content and goal/anticipated outcome of the talk (400 word limit).

Special Session is a submission category intended to allow for other presentation formats including Author-Meets-Curious-Readers (AMCR), workshops, or other innovative approaches.  

AMCR sessions spotlight books that are of broad interest to ITRA members.  AMCRs may be self-nominated and should include three to four potential ‘curious readers’ who will serve as critics and discussion facilitators. 

The organizing committee also invites proposals for workshops. Workshops are highly interactive sessions focused around an activity or problem-based discussion that provides useful and/or tangible takeaways for participants with a maximum time limit of 2-hours. Submitted abstracts for workshops must describe the workshop’s importance/relevance, outline its overall structure, learning objectives/goals, and intended audience and key takeaways (400 word limit).  In addition to the abstract, a list of expendable materials and/or any special requirements (e.g., space or equipment) is also required.  Workshop leaders should plan on providing all materials needed for the workshop. 

Proposals for AMCRs, workshops or other special sessions should be sent directly to the program chair, Dr. Volker Mehringer, at volker.mehringer@phil.uni-augsburg.de for consideration by December 31, 2025. Please note that acceptance for special sessions is quite limited.

Conference Publication Opportunities

Two publications will be released based on papers presented at the 2026 conference. As with the the 8th and 9th ITRA World Conferences, the proceedings will be published in the open archive HAL, an online scientific research document repository. The previous proceedings may be consulted at: https://hal-univ-paris13.archives-ouvertes.fr/ITRA2018/ and https://sorbonne-paris-nord.hal.science/ITRA2023/. Participants who wish to have their full paper published in in the HAL Archive must submit it to Gilles Brougère at brougere@noos.fr by 6 January, 2027, although earlier submission is encouraged. In addition to Professor Brougère, Volker Mehringer and Greta Pennell will serve as co-editors.

The second publication will be an edited book of the same title as the conference theme 2026 based on selected papers presented at the conference. This volume will be open access and published by Play Story Press (https://playstorypress.org/). Presentation at the conference does not guarantee acceptance for publication in the special issue, but it is a pre-condition.  All completed papers will be subject to editor and peer review with a target release date in early fall of 2027. To be considered for the special issue authors must express their interest the lead editor, Volker Mehringer (volker.mehringer@phil.uni-augsburg.de ) by 1 October, 2026.  Authors are invited and encouraged to submit their work for both publications.

For both publications submitted papers must be written in English and use APA citation style. Additional details regarding style requirements and submission/review timelines will be provided following the conference.

Special Conference Events

Pre-Conference Excursion to Ravensburger - Tuesday 4 August, 2026; 8AM-4PM

Ravensburger is one of the best-known board game publishers and one of the world's largest puzzle manufacturers. They are graciously opening their doors to ITRA participants for a unique behing the scenes tour of the production halls to see how puzzles are made. It’s home city of Ravensburg is known as "The city of towers and gates" situated in a scenic landscape with a view of the Alps. During our visit, we will have the opportunity to talk to the game development department and wrap up the day at Ravensburger Spieleland, a theme park based on the most famous brands and games of Ravensburger. Please note that space is limited for this special pre-conference excursion, registration is required, and open only to registered conference attendees at no additional cost. To take advantage of this special opportunity you must be in Augsburg by Monday evening 3 August. Details regarding our point of departure and bus transport will be provided closer to our departure date. Thanks to Ravensburger and German Toy Industry Association (DVSI) for their generous support of this excursion.

Augsburg Abend – An Evening Celebrating Augsburg’s Culture and Cuisine

All fully registered conference attendees are invited to join us at a special evening Thursday August 6, 2026 to enjoy two of Augsburg’s own special landmarks. We start the evening at Augsburg’s famous Puppenkiste (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Augsburger_Puppenkiste) followed by a buffet dinner highlighting Augsburg’s Bavarian and Italian heritage dinner at the historic Riegele WirtsHaus in Augsburg. Museum entrance and dinner with drinks is included in the full conference registration fee for both professionals and students. Fully registered conference attendees may purchase additional guest registration for the anniversary dinner (90€ inclusive per person), space permitting, during the online registration process.

Registration Information and Fees

Registration for the conference will be available online only, opening in February 2026. The conference fee must be paid in connection with the registration through on online portal hosted by Yapla (link above or here).

Secure electronic payment may be made by credit card (VISA, MasterCard or American Express). Please make sure you have your credit card on hand before you start the registration process as the portal may timeout after a certain amount of time has passed. Your registration will not be valid until you have successfully completed the entire process and received confirmation of registration and payment.

• Early registration until May 1, 2026 325.00 €

• Late registration until July 1, 2026 400.00 €

• Student (status confirmation required*) until May 1, 2026 190.00 €

• Student (status confirmation required*) until July 1, 2026. 275.00 €

• Guest for Augsburg Abend Special Dinner ** 90.00 €

*Student fees are applicable only to full-time high school/university or college students who present a copy of a valid student ID or an official certificate of their student status signed by their supervising faculty member when they arrive at the conference.

** Single Day registration does not include lunch or evening programming and is only available space permitting. Single day registration doesn’t open until July 2 2026.

Registration fee includes all conference sessions, conference materials, daily lunches, refreshments at breaks, the special dinner, and membership to ITRA. Guest special dinner registration is for guests accompanying fully registered conference attendees and is limited to two guests per attendee.

The fee does not include accommodations, travel expenses or optional post conference excursions (details regarding these events are forthcoming, watch the conference website for more information).

Online transactions might not always go as planned. Payments by bank transfer directly to ITRA are possible in extraordinary circumstances. If you are unable to register through Yapla with your credit card, please contact the ITRA treasurer, Gilles Brougère: brougere@univ-paris13.fr to arrange payment.

Financial Support

Limited financial support is available to participants for whom registration fees and travel costs would present a hardship. Please submit your request for financial consideration including a rationale and budget indicating costs covered by the applicant, other sources of support, and the specific request from ITRA. Application deadline December 31, 2025 along with presentation abstract to the conference chair: volker.mehringer@phil.uni-augsburg.de

Cancellation and Refund Policy

In the event that a registered attendee needs to cancel, notification must be sent to both Volker Mehringer (volker.mehringer@phil.uni-augsburg.de ) and Gilles Brougere (brougere@univ-paris13.fr ).  Bank wire fees will be subtracted from any requested refunds received prior to July 1, 2026. No refunds will be made for cancellations after this date or for no-shows. Please note, optional donations made to Yapla, the non-profit organization managing the conference payment system, are not refundable.

Conference deadlines

Proposal/Abstracts Submission Deadline for all papers, posters, symposia, & workshops - December 31, 2025
Request for financial assistance - December 31, 2025
Response from review committee – March 1, 2026
Early registration until - May 1, 2026
Late Registration until – July 1, 2026
Cancellation Deadline for full refund – July 1, 2026
Deadline for special conference rate on hotel accommodations - July 15, 2026

10th World Conference Committees

Scientific Committee:

Vincent Berry, Université Sorbonne Paris Nord, France
Harshul Brahmbhatt, Children’s Research University, India
Barbara Carè, University of Fribourg, Switzerland
Paul Darvasi, Gold Bug Interactive & University of Toronto, Canada
Jeffrey H. Goldstein, University of Utrecht, The Netherlands
Karen Feder, Design School Kolding, Kolding, Denmark
Gundolf Freyermuth, Cologne Game Lab & Internationale Filmschule Köln, Germany
Cleo Gougoulis, University of Patras, Greece
Salim Hashmi, King's College London, UK
Katriina Heljakka, University of Turku, Finland
Volker Mehringer, University of Augsburg, Germany
Greta Pennell, University of Indianapolis, USA
Miriam Morante Bonet, Universitat Politècnica de València, Spain
Luisa Magalhães, Catholic University, Portugal
Christine Spiller, Deutsches Spielzeug Museum, Germany
Sabrina Thomas, Duke University, USA
Jeffrey Trawick-Smith, Eastern Connecticut State University, USA
Lieselotte van Leeuwen, University of Gothenburg, Gothenburg, Sweden
Wiebke Waburg, University of Koblenz, Germany

Organizing Committee:

Volker Mehringer, University of Augsburg, Germany ITRA Conference Committee Chair & Board Member
Greta Pennell, ITRA President, ex officio, University of Indianapolis, USA
Gilles Brougère, ITRA Treasurer, University Sorbonne Paris Nord, France
Ozlem Cankaya, MacEwan University, Canada
Brian McCarty, War Toys, USA
Markus Wiemker, Hochschule Fresenius, University of Applied Science, Germany
Artemis Yagou, Deutsches Museum, Germany

Contact:

Email: volker.mehringer@phil.uni-augsburg.de

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